The Student Room Group

Snug piercing

Hi all,

I had my snug pierced nearly 2 weeks ago, and i'm finding it every so hard to clean.
It looks like it's ripped a tiny bit on the one side, and the dried blood won't come off. I've put a picture up to show you what i mean. Sorry about the quality.



It's still quite swollen, and the piercing wont actually move because I think the bar is too small.. I'm not sure though.

Has anyone got any ideas how to sort it out? Cos the blood is driving me mad :/

I use the Savlon Spray on it to clean it, and use cotton wool buds, etc.

Thanks everyone!
I dont know sorry!
I just clicked on to ask for a picture ( i did not know what snug piercing was), and you already put one up :smile:
anyone? really could do with some help asap x
Wait for Ilora. She is brilliant at all things piercing related.
Reply 4
Try cleaning it with salt water...and it does look like the bar is too small.
If it gets worse just take it out
Without a closer look, it's hard to tell really.

The blood will come off when it's ready; don't force it or pull it off. Salt water is THE best thing for cleaning piercings. I suggest you stop using savlon and just use saline.

A macro shot of your piercing would help too.
Reply 6
From that picture it looks like it might be a bit shallow or your ear isn't ideal for a snug piercing...do you have a picture where you're not pushing on your ear?

Most people find sea salt soaks to be better than Savlon. 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mug of hot water (but make sure you don't burn yourself). Put the mug on your desk and lean into it so your ear is submerged, or if you find that too uncomfortable then used completely soaked cotton wall balls (not buds).

Ibuprofen can help bring the swelling down. Chamomile tea bag compresses are also good for soothing irritated piercings (proper chamomile tea bag soaked in boiling water for a while, let it cool so you don't burn yourself, then just hold it against the piercing for 5 minutes).

Snugs are notorious for being very difficult to heal. It'll probably be pissy for quite a while.
Preferably, you want sea/rock salt, and not normal table salt! Make sure the water's boiled, and then cooled for a while, or it'll hurt like hell. Tea tree oil can be used too, although some people don't really approve of it.

It does look a bit like the bar might be too small, so the swelling gets worse. You might want to visit your piercer and ask for a professional opinion, too, but as someone said, it is likely to be pissy for a while yet.
Reply 8
Hey! I'd go back to your piercer or to a piercing shop :smile: they're the experts and will happily change the bar for you and literally make it more comfortable and clean it properly. that's what I had to do with my cartilage piercing - it became too swollen so they put a larger bar in :smile: oh, and arnica tablets are brilliant for keeping swelling down!
good luck! :heart:
Ilora-Danon
Without a closer look, it's hard to tell really.

The blood will come off when it's ready; don't force it or pull it off. Salt water is THE best thing for cleaning piercings. I suggest you stop using savlon and just use saline.

A macro shot of your piercing would help too.



Thats the best picture i could get of the side that is manky.
Hopefully that will be some help?

It's not as if ive not been cleaning it either, but it scabbed over so i left it, and cleaned the rest of it.

Thank you everyone
Yeah, looks like the barbell hasn't allowed enough room for swelling. Did you go to a reputable studio when you had it done? And with a needle, yes? What material is the barbell?

When you go back they should change the barbell for you, to a longer one. Keep salt soaking it, it'll loosen up any crusts and will help the skin to heal.

Oh and keep up on the ibuprofen, it'll help reduce the swelling.
Ilora-Danon
Yeah, looks like the barbell hasn't allowed enough room for swelling. Did you go to a reputable studio when you had it done? And with a needle, yes? What material is the barbell?

When you go back they should change the barbell for you, to a longer one. Keep salt soaking it, it'll loosen up any crusts and will help the skin to heal.

Oh and keep up on the ibuprofen, it'll help reduce the swelling.


Shall I get to the piercing shop asap then?
Yes, I did go to a good studio, and had been recommended to me and i'd had piercing there before with no issues.
It was done with a needle, and i'm not sure about the material.. :s-smilie:

I'll go soak it now, how many times a day would you say i should do it?
Twice a day, morning and night.

I'd give it a couple of days of regular ibuprofen taking and salt soaks and then if it hasn't calmed down any, then go to your piercer. If you can manage to calm it, it might make changing the barbell easier if there's less swelling. So give it 2-3 days and then go to your piercer. They should change the barbell for you without charge, as they did the piercing.
Ilora-Danon
Twice a day, morning and night.

I'd give it a couple of days of regular ibuprofen taking and salt soaks and then if it hasn't calmed down any, then go to your piercer. If you can manage to calm it, it might make changing the barbell easier if there's less swelling. So give it 2-3 days and then go to your piercer. They should change the barbell for you without charge, as they did the piercing.


Okay thank you very much for your help! To be fair, it looks quite a bit better with soaking it properly, and if the swelling goes down i'll be happy! i dont fancy getting it changed just yet seeing as it hurts enough as it is :smile:
Yeah, if you can get the swelling to go down on your own, it should be okay. Fingers crossed.

And you're welcome :smile:
i got mine done sometime last year, they take forever to heal, no lie.
i clean mine with savelon spray + mine's fine now but it was really swollen when i first got it done.. not to the extent that i couldn't wiggle the bar at all though.
like everyone else seems to be saying, go bak to the piercer, i'm sure they'll be happy help (:
I had the exact same problem what i done was removed the blood off mine and i purchased a larger bar which has helped massively,i have had mine done for almost 4 month now and i love it.All i can suggest is to buy a new bar but longer i went for the horse shoe type i sterilised it for 24 hours in boiled water and rock salt then put it in the next day and i have not had any more problems apart from the usual swelling and a little bit of scab but other than that its fine .
If it gets really bad just contact your piercer or make an appointment, don't take it out!!!